Germany reached the 2022 Women’s Euro final in July, but the team still earned far less than their male counterparts. Now, Germany’s chancellor is ramping up his fight for equal pay in women’s sports.
After meeting with officials from Germany’s soccer federation, chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that more talks regarding the issue will be held next month, adding that equal pay would help attract more girls and women to soccer.
After acknowledging that the men’s and women’s markets are different, federation president Bernd Neuendorf said, “We want to do everything to change this in coming years.”
- For the 16 women’s teams at Euro 2022, UEFA had around $16.5 million available. In 2021, the men’s side had roughly $341.6 million.
- For the women’s Euro, players would have reportedly earned $61,000 for winning the tournament, whereas the men’s players could have earned $407,000.
There is certainly interest in the country. The Women’s Euro final was the highest-attended game in the history of the men’s and women’s tournament and garnered 17.9 million viewers in Germany.
Neuendorf added that he’s prepared to discuss with representatives of both national teams whether the current pay is “in keeping with the times.”
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By the end of 2020, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and the U.K. declared equal pay between the men’s and women’s national teams. In May, the USWNT were granted equal pay, and in June, Spain announced their own agreement.
